12 Years a Slave actress Lupita Nyong’o has had people talking since her acclaimed film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. The young actress has already received awards, including the New Hollywood Award from the Hollywood Film Awards, for her first major acting role.

During the conversation, the ladies discuss the best advice they’ve ever received, the scariest moments they’ve been through and how they prepare for different roles.

“It was tough,” Nyong’o said of preparing for her role as a slave in 12 Years a Slave. “I knew I couldn’t go about it in any sort of method way because I would have not survived the experience. I was always so close to tears, and plenty of times, I’d be in my hotel room, just crying.”

Oprah said she was “worried” she might be rusty for her role in The Butler “because it’s like picking up your instrument and you hadn’t touched it in 15 years.”

Nyong’o admits that the first time she felt she could be an actress was when she watched The Color Purple, which stars Winfrey, when she was a little girl growing up in Kenya. The two stars then shared a tearful, touching moment.